


Night of the Living Coulson

by QueenFandom



Series: Nights of the Agents [1]
Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV), Avengers
Genre: Multi, originally from fanfiction.net, sporatic updates, there's more characters but i can't remember them all, watch the show AU
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-01-25
Updated: 2017-01-30
Packaged: 2018-09-19 21:43:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 14,732
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9461513
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/QueenFandom/pseuds/QueenFandom
Summary: The truth is revealed when the Avengers watch Agents of Shield. Adopted from AFincorperated.





	1. Chapter One

**Author's Note:**

> Welcome to the story.  
> Updates are sporadic.

Natasha yawned and stretched out on the lounge chairs on the balcony of her apartment in Avengers Tower. She had had a long week of missions and danger and stupidness, and was really looking forward to have an entire day of nothing. Maybe she'd read a book. Maybe she'd just nap.

Whatever it was, she wasn't leaving this balcony for as long as she could. It was a sunny summer day, and for once she was relaxed.

Well, all good things come to an end.

Natasha didn't even feel anything change-to her, she just blinked and opened her eyes and was somewhere else entirely. She was sitting in the living room of the main area of the tower, with all the other Avengers in the tower there as well, all looking equally disoriented. Wanda squeaked and accidentally made one of the windows explode outward with her magic. Clint had his hands up like he was firing a bow, except all his bow and arrows were missing. Tony staggered a little, falling onto the couch. Thor fell backward over one of the armchairs and hit the floor. Steve reached for his shield to realize it wasn't right next to him where he thought it should be, and Bruce did a full 360 trying to figure out where he was.

Vision was the only one who didn't look confused. He stood serenely in front of them, waiting for silence.

"What's going-" Tony swore. "How did I-"

"I am sorry to have done that to you," Vision said politely. "But there is something that all of you really ought to see."

"Vision, how did you do that?" Wanda asked curiously, staring at him. "Did you teleport us?"

"No." Vision said. "Someone else did that. I only suggested it."

"Vision, I swear, you had better start making sense." Clint frowned. "Where's my bow?!"

"Being kept safe. As is your shield, Captain, and Thor's hammer, and the Ironman suit. They are all in a safe place until I am done showing you what it is you must see."

"What must we see?" Natasha demanded testily. She had been having a great day, and now all she wanted to do was punch Vision in the face.

"Yeah, can we hurry this up?" Tony complained. "I'm supposed to meet Pepper."

"I'm afraid that you're going to be late, Mr. Stark." Vision said, sitting down on the loveseat in front of the TV. "This may take a while. And none of you will find yourselves able to leave until we are done watching everything."

"Everything?" Bruce asked cautiously. "What are we watching?"

"Let's just get this over with," Steve sighed. Natasha scowled, but for some reason found herself less angry when he sat down next to her.

Wanda found a seat next to Vision, and everyone else crowded onto couches, the armchairs, and somehow Thor ended up sitting on the floor.

"What we are about to watch is extremely important, and entirely classified." Vision said. The TV clicked on without anyone having to do anything.

" **The secret is out."** The screen was still black, but they could hear a woman's voice.

"Who is that?" Clint asked. Everyone but Vision shrugged.

**The screen changed to show a city, clouds passing rapidly overhead. The woman's voice continued, "For decades, your organization stayed in the shadows, hiding the truth." The screen now showed a sped-up view of people in a busy city intersection.**

" **But now we know. They're among us. Heroes…" Images flashed across the screen: Tony flying across the sky, the captain's shield, Thor's hammer.**

"Hey, is all of this about us?" Steve looked surprised. "Someone made a movie about us?"

"No," Wanda looked a little puzzled. "Why would anyone make a movie about us? Nobody would watch it..."

" **And monsters," The woman continued. The screen was filled with crashed cars, burned buildings, and the face of a Chitauri. Then it showed Bruce in Hulk-mode, roaring at the camera.**

Bruce winced. Tony scowled. "He's not a monster!" He told the TV screen. "He should be on the hero list!"

Bruce went a little pink. "Thanks, Tony."

"It's _true._ " The other Avengers looked a little uncomfortable, until Tony glared at them and they all started nodding.

" **The world is full of wonders," The woman finished. The screen changed again to show a little boy walking up to a shop window with Avengers action figures positioned inside. The little boy's father could be seen behind him, talking to another older man with grey hair. Words appeared at the bottom of the screen, in white:** _ **East Los Angeles, CA.**_

"I am confused." Thor stated. "Is this little boy known by any of us?" Again, all of them shook their heads, even the Vision this time.

" **Ace, come and get it," The little boy's father said, offering his son lunch. The boy took it and turned back to the window.**

"His name's Ace?" Clint smiled. "That's kinda cute."

"Aww… Daddy Hawk!" Tony teased, and Clint's face went red.

"I'm just gonna stop talking, now."

" **What do you say we go out to your Aunt Mindy's this weekend? You and Kisha can swim in the pond." The boy's dad gave a smile that was slightly forced as the little boy stared at the heroes figurines.**

**All the boy said was, "Sure." The father's smile faltered.**

"When he say's they're going to his Aunt Mindy's…" Natasha said, a thought springing to mind. "Do they have anyplace else to go?"  
"They probably do." Steve said quickly, but he looked a little concerned.

" **You know you got a birthday coming up in a couple a' months." His dad said, noticing Ace staring at the hero figurines. "Who's your favorite?"**

"Me!" Tony said immediately, and Steve rolled his eyes. "What? It is probably me. I'm just popular, I can't help it."

" **I'm okay," Ace said, looking sad.**

Wanda frowned. _Children should be able to have toys,_ she thought, remembering her own childhood on the streets with Pietro after their parents died. Vision seemed to sense her discomfort, and took her hand. Wanda's face went red, but for some reason she didn't feel like pulling away.

" **Hey," The father bent over to be at the same level as his son. "Things are tight right now, but I'm gonna find something. Not back at the factory, but I got prospects. You and me, what are we?"**

" **We're a team," Ace answered, and the two fist-bumped.**

"Okay," Steve said. "That is admittedly pretty cute."

"See? Not just me." Clint grumbled.

"It is." Natasha agreed, but quietly enough that no one had to hear her.

" **That's right. So, who do you-" The top floor of the building across the street exploded outward. Screams and crashes spread through the street. The father shielded Ace from any shrapnel, staring up at the explosion in horror. On the street, people dodged fire and glass.**

"Hydra?" Thor asked. "Or some other enemy?"

"I don't know." Steve frowned. "Hydra is usually subtler than that."

" **Are you okay?" The father demanded of Ace. "Alright, Ace, look at me. I need you to stay here with Bernie, okay? People might be hurt I'm gonna see if they need my help. Stay with Bernie! Watch my boy!" The father shoved through the people fleeing the scene, heading for the wreckage.**

"Does he have super powers?" Wanda wondered.

"I hope so. Otherwise, he might not be able to do much good, not without training." Natasha frowned.

**The father made his way around the building to an alley at the back. A woman's voice screamed from above. "Help me!** _**Help me!**_ "

**The father glanced around. Then he held up his hand like he was about to punch the wall.**

Clint started, "Is he about to do what I think he's gonna-"

**The father slammed his hand into the wall, and it sank in and stayed there. He jammed in his foot and another hand, climbing the wall.**

"Well, he definitely has powers." Steve nodded.

"Lame powers." Tony said, checking his watch. "Pepper is gonna be mad at me, I was two hours late before this whole thing started, so this is just making me doubly-"

"Stark, shut up."

**The father reached the window the woman had screamed from and threw his arms over the sill. He yelled in pain, but still managed to pull his hood over his head before throwing himself into the flame.**

Everyone watching was tense, nervous to see what would happen and worried if something went wrong. They didn't even know him, but they were on the edges of their seats.

**In the flaming building, the man struggled to see through the smoke. He kicked aside a burned-out door, and followed the voice. He only just managed to leap back as a beam fell down in front of him.**

**The screen changed to show people on the street, using their cell phones to film the explosion. Then, from one of the front windows, the hooded man leapt from the building, with a woman in his arms bridal style.**

"Yes!" Tony cheered. "Go guy!"

**He landed on the ground, leaving huge cracks in the concrete. For a moment, the screen showed him through one of the blurry phone videos. His face couldn't be seen. Then the phone video was gone, and he was lowering the coughing woman carefully to the ground.**

**The screen showed another young woman with dark hair and a leather jacket, staring and holding her camera.**

"Isn't that like the third time they've shown her?" Tony realized.

"She must be important." Thor mused. "Perhaps she is an agent of SHIELD?"

"She'd be doing more." Natasha shook her head. "Maybe she'll figure out who he is."

**The hooded man stood up, and for a moment the two stared at each other. Then he yanked his hood down and ran. The young woman who'd been filming him seemed like she wanted to follow, but went to the rescued woman on the ground, instead.**

"Good choice." Steve nodded approvingly. "Helping the injured first."

" **We can't explain everything we see." The woman narrator's voice was back as the man made his way through a crowd of people to his son, Ace, his jacket now tucked under his arm. "But our eyes are open. So what now? There are no more shadows for you to hide in." The man led Ace away from Bernie and through the crowd from the explosion site.**

" **Something impossible just happened." The woman narrated. The man glanced at the wreckage one more time, and then they were gone in the crowd. "What are you going to do about it?"**

**Suddenly, the image of the man and Ace were gone, replaced with a logo everyone watching knew well. The SHIELD eagle, with the words** _ **Marvel: Agents of SHIELD**_ **written over it.**

"What the hell?" Clint asked. "They make it seem like a TV show."

"How did they get all of that footage?" Wanda wanted to know. "This should be impossible, yes?"

"Should, being the key word." Vision said with a vague smile.

**The logo was gone, replaced by black cars driving along the a river.** _ **Paris, France**_ **appeared at the bottom of the screen as the cars all stopped.**

"Okay, _these_ guys are SHIELD agents." Tony decided. "The black vans totally give it away."

**A man in a suit climbed from his car, speaking into a walkie-talkie. "Agent Ward, there's been a development. It's the Rising Tide."**

"The who-now?" Steve had to ask.

"A group of hackers," Natasha explained. "They've caused a lot of trouble for SHIELD, and other government organizations. Hacking our servers and leaking info onto the net, things like that."

"I like them already!" Tony grinned. Natasha scowled.

**Now on the screen was a man on a motorcycle, wearing all black. The man's voice could still be heard over the walkie-talkie. "They've pinned down the location of the package, we need to abort."**

" **I'm five minutes away from retrieving it," The man on the motorcycle said, sounding annoyed.**

"Agent Ward?" Thor guessed.

"Probably." Clint shrugged.

" **So was everyone else," The man on the walkie-talkie replied cooly. Agent Ward was coming to a stop in front of a restaurant. The walkie-talkie man continued. "They posted the coordinates online."**

"Jeez." Tony raised his eyebrows. "Isn't that… really dangerous for a load of people?"  
Natasha nodded slowly, like she was trying to explain all of this to a child.

" **If the job was easy-" Agent Ward started to say, but walkie-talkie interrupted.**

" **Yeah, it wouldn't be any fun. Watch your six." Agent Ward pulled off his helmet, and the camera saw his face for the first time. He was handsome, with dark hair and eyes.**

"I think I might know him," Natasha frowned suddenly. "He looks a little familiar."

"Makes sense," Wanda nodded. "You're both SHIELD agents, after all."

**Agent Ward walked into the restaurant through the back door, slipping a tray out of his jacket. He walked through the kitchen and into the main dining area, now dressed as a waiter. He carefully placed a special cloth on the tray.**

"Undercover as a waiter?" Tony asked scornfully. "Lame."

"Waiters hear everything," Clint said reproachfully.

" **Red tie, by the window." The walkie-talkie guy's voice said. It was a little muffled.**

"Is he in Agent Ward's earpiece?" The Vision asked. Wanda nodded.

**Ward approached the man described, who was at a table with several other men. He said something in French, and subtitles flashed across the bottom of the screen.** _**May I take your glass, sir?** _

**The man quickly nodded and turned back to his companions. Ward took the glass and hurried away. At the back of the restaurant was a set of huge spiral stairs with a chandelier hanging over them. Ward strode up the stairs, waving the glass over the cloth on his tray. A handprint appeared in blue light, then flashed red, then turned off.**

"What was that?" Thor asked curiously.

"He took the fingerprints from the glass," Natasha explained. "That cloth scans it and re-creates the fingerprints. We use it a lot at SHIELD."

"That's pretty cool," Tony admitted. "But I still don't get why we're watching this."

**Suddenly, the screen changed to a lavish apartment. French singing could be heard from somewhere. The door quietly opened, and Ward slipped into the apartment. He closed the door behind him and made his way down the hallway, glancing around each doorway. He finally seemed to find what he was looking for, stopping by a large fireplace.**

**What he did next was odd. He twisted the top and bottom of his tray in opposite directions, and a ring of blue light appeared. He held it up, and it showed an x-ray of the wall. He followed it to a keypad hidden behind a painting, which he took down. He typed in the code, and held the stolen fingerprints to the scanner.**

"How did he know the code?" Wanda asked.

"SHIELD has ways of knowing these things." Natasha said shortly.

"That's really creepy." Tony muttered.

"She just means that they've probably got surveillance on this place." Steve explained. He glanced sideways at Natasha. "That is what you meant… right?"

**The entire fireplace slid up into the ceiling, while Ward looked unimpressed.**

"That's cool," Clint said, nodding. "I think I should put one of those in my house."

"Laura would kill you." Natasha shook her head.

**Behind the fireplace was a dimly lit small room with a table, a small pile of treasures set on it. Ignoring the piles of bills, Ward took a small cloth bag from the table and turned to leave.**

"Why doesn't he take the money?" Tony frowned.

"Because he actually has morals."

"That explains it."

**He was halfway out when he looked up and saw a blond woman in a dressing gown holding a wooden cooking spoon, frowning at him.**

"She's not dressed…." Steve averted his eyes, ignoring Tony's sniggers.

**The two stared at each other for a moment, and then Ward said, "Your fireplace is broken."**

Tony and Wanda both laughed. "That's the best he had?" Clint smirked. "Jeez."

"It is not entirely inaccurate," The Vision said thoughtfully. "Lifting into the ceiling probably impairs the intended purpose of the fireplace."

Wanda shook her head at him.

**The woman looked unimpressed, and for a moment the only noise was the French opera music, which had played the entire time. Then something was called in French from the front hall, the door bursting open, and Ward jolted into action. He threw his tray into the face of the first man inside.**

"Nice," Steve said appreciatively.

**The second man was swung into a bookcase. There appeared to be only two of them, but they kept getting back up. The bookcase man pulled a gun, but Ward yanked it out of his hand and it hit the floor. While they fought, the blond woman rolled her eyes and left the room. The man threw Ward to the floor and they were almost caught underneath the fireplace as it lowered to the floor, but Ward managed to roll out of the way.**

" **Ward," Walkie-talkie man was back. "Just a heads up, we've got possible hostiles in your vicinity."**

"No kidding!" Clint laughed. "That warning came a bit late, don't you think?"

"I don't think he needed a warning," Natasha said. She'd been watching Ward fight, looking a little impressed. "He's a good fighter." Steve shot her a glance. Was he jealous? Okay, maybe a little. But he kept his mouth shut. He didn't even like Natasha in that way… right?

" **Really?" Ward hissed as he and his attacker, in a headlock, fell backwards over the couch. The French woman, now fully dressed, was spotted leaving the house.**

"She isn't even going to do anything?" Wanda said scornfully. "I'm not impressed."

**Ward wrestled with both men, managing to kick one back into the sofa. The other grabbed him by the collar and shoved him into the kitchen counter. Ward punched him to the floor quickly, but the other man was almost on his feet again.**

**Ward grabbed a blender from the counter and smashed it in the sofa-man's face.**

Everyone winced. "Ow."

**The other man was on his feet again and tried to hid Ward with a frying pan, but Ward had pulled out a drawer and held it up in defense. He then smashed it over the man's head, and another punch sent him to the ground.**

"He is an impressive fighter," Clint agreed. "Not much finesse, though."

Wanda snorted. "You don't have finesse, either."

"No arguments."

**Ward kicked the man's face into the oven door. Then with a panted breath and a glance around, he was out the door.**

**The next shot showed a helicopter flying over Paris.**

"His extraction?" Natasha guessed.

"Must be," Steve agreed.

**Ward was shown climbing up onto a roof, jogging along and looking up at the helicopter.**

"Did he seriously climb that high?" Tony wondered. "That's ten stories, at least."

**The helicopter swung overhead, and Ward caught a rope lowered down to him. They swung out over the city, Ward holding onto knots in the rope.**

"That must be terrifying." Thor commented.

"It is," Natasha agreed. "I've done it several times."

" **What does SHIELD stand for, Agent Ward?" A familiar woman's voice asked.**

"Hill," Steve, Natasha, and Clint all said at the same time. "What's she got to do with all of this? And what's all of this got to do with us?" Clint wanted to know.

"You will see," Vision promised.

**Ward was now sitting at a metal table in a dark room, looking like he didn't want to be there. But he still answered immediately. "Strategic Homeland Intervention Enforcement and Logistics Division."**

" **And what does that mean to you?" Hill asked. They still hadn't seen her on screen, but there was nobody else that it could be.**

**Ward hesitated. "It means someone really wanted our initials to spell out SHIELD."**

Tony laughed. "My opinion of this guy just went up."

**Hill was shown on the screen, sitting across from Ward and looking annoyed. Ward quickly revised his answer. "It means we're the line," He sighed. "Between the world, and the much weirder world. We protect people from news they aren't ready to hear. And when we can't do that, we keep them safe."**

"That's a good way of putting it," Natasha agreed.

"That's a good way of justifying it." Tony corrected. They shot each other glares.

**Hill tilted her head. Ward continued, pulling the small cloth pouch from his jacket. "Something turns up, like the Chitauri Neural Link," He pulled it out of the pouch and held up a small metal object.**

"Chitauri what now?" Clint asked, confused.

"The Chitauri Neural Link is a classified object," Vision immediately answered. "I cannot explain what it is. Mainly because our author doesn't know either, but thought somebody would probably ask."

"Huh?"

**Ward slid it across the table to Hill. Words appeared at the bottom of the screen, in white:** _ **Agent Hill's Field Office. Location: Classified.**_ " **We get to it before someone bad does." Ward finished. Hill examined the link. It looked link a part of a spine, ridged and shiny black metal.**

"That thing is disgusting," Wanda decided.

**Hill stood up and walked to a man who was standing expectantly with an open black case. "Any idea who Vanchat was planning on selling it to?"  
** " **I'm more interested in how this Rising Tide group found out about it." Ward said, obviously hoping for answers. "I thought they were just hackers. What changed?"  
** " **Everything's changing," Hill said, hands on hips. "A little while ago people went to bed thinking the craziest thing in the world was a billionaire, in a flying metal suit."**

Tony gave a fake grin, raised his hands, and pointed at himself enthusiastically. "Ooh, ooh, that's me! That's me!"

"We know, Tony," Steve rolled his eyes. "Shut up."

"Take a joke, Steve?" Bruce said, a little miffed at Steve. Tony looked surprised Bruce had sided with him, but didn't comment.

" **Then aliens invaded New York, and were beaten back by, among others, a giant green monster, a costumed hero from the forties, and a god."**

"Two things," Tony said, holding up two fingers. "He's not a god, and he's not a monster. She only got one out of two."

"And she left out me and Nat!" Clint said, pretending to be hurt. "Way to be a jerk, Hill."

" **I don't think Thor is technically a god," Ward said, frowning at her.**

"Thank you," Tony and Clint said at the same time.

"Close enough," Thor actually did look a little hurt. "More godly than any of you."

" **Well, you haven't been near his arms." Hill shrugged.**

Everyone but Thor (who was red-faced) and Vision (who was confused) laughed. "I'm thinking I'm starting to like watching this," Steve smiled. "It's actually not so bad."

"Say that at my funeral after Pepper murders me for not showing up," Tony sighed.

**Ward pursed his lips. Hill kept talking. "The Battle of New York was the end of the world. This, now, is the new world."**

"I can't tell if that's inspiring or depressing," Clint frowned.

"Little of column A, little of column B." Tony shrugged.

" **People are different," Hill continued. "They have access to tech, to formulas, secrets they're not ready for."**

**Ward leaned forward, getting tired with her speech. "Why was I pulled out of Paris?"**

" **That you'll have to ask Agent Coulson."**

Natasha, Steve, Clint, Tony, Thor, and Bruce all froze. Wanda and Vision exchanged slightly confused looks. "Who's Agent Coulson?" Wanda asked curiously.

"A friend," Clint said stiffly. "Died in the battle of New York. And if she just said that this is after the Battle of New York-"

"Are there some meds Hill is taking? Or should be taking?" Tony guessed.

"Is it possible that Coulson lived?" Bruce asked, glancing at Thor, who had been there when Coulson had been stabbed through the heart by Loki.

"Nay," Thor said darkly. "I wish it was so, but I saw my brother's scepter go straight through Coulson's heart. He could not have survived a wound like that."

"Everyone mourned him," Natasha nodded, trying to convince herself. "Clint and I went to his funeral. It's not possible that he's alive. He just isn't. I wish he was but he isn't."  
" **Uh… yeah." Ward gave a clearly fake smile. "I'm clearance level six. I know that Agent Coulson was killed in action, before the Battle of New York."**

"Maybe Hill's just crazy," Clint suggested. "That's possible, right?"

**The screen changed to show a dark corner. Ward finished, "Got the full report."**

**Then Agent Coulson stepped out of the shadows. "Welcome to level seven."**


	2. Chapter Two

For a minute, everyone was quiet. Clint had one hand pressed to his mouth, the other gripping the arm of his chair so hard he was tearing the upholstery with his fingernails. Steve was shaking his head like it wasn't true, like he couldn't believe it was true. Tony was grinning, but still looked shocked. Thor had a look on his face that was somewhere between dread and delight, and Bruce only showed a small smile. Wanda and the Vision, who had never personally met Coulson, were both smiling on their friend's behalfs.

Natasha didn't know how to feel.

She either wanted to grin or track down Fury and smack him across his stupid smug evil face. There was no way he hadn't known, and yet he had lied to them. He had let them think their friend was dead, and there were few people Natasha called true friends. But she had mourned for Coulson, and now there was was, smirking on the paused TV screen.

"This cannot be true," Thor insisted. "This is-this is one of Loki's tricks, a deceit. This isn't…. this cannot…."

"Why not?" Tony challenged. "Fury pulled a fast one! Coulson's alive!"

"We don't know that," Steve warned, his face clouding over. "Thor's right, this could be a trick."

"I saw Coulson die with my own eyes. I consider him a friend but I will not be home to false hope." Thor shook his head, standing up to pace back and forth.

"If I may," The Vision said politely. "These videos are entirely true. Agent Phillip Coulson is alive."

Someone squeezed Natasha's shoulder. She looked up to see Clint, smiling. His eyes were bright, and Natasha's stomach jumped. She had never seen Clint cry before-at least not from happiness.

"I can't believe it," Natasha found herself whispering. "I can't believe it."

"I don't." Steve frowned. "The more I think about it, the more impossible it seems. I'm level eight, so why wasn't I told earlier?"

"Hey, that's right," Tony said, his smile hesitating. "Aren't you a level eight, too, Katniss?"

"That doesn't prove anything." Clint argued. Natasha was feeling a little ill. She was also a level eight. So why hadn't she been told? Why hadn't she known? She should've known. She should've just _known._

"Neither does that!" Steve waved his hand in the direction of the TV screen.

"I'm sorry about your friend," Wanda interrupted. "But maybe we will find out more if we keep watching. Besides, if Vision says it's true, then I trust him."

"It's not that we don't trust him." Bruce said hesitantly. "But what if he's wrong? Vision, who gave you these for us to watch?"

"I cannot tell you." Vision shook his head. "I am sorry. But I agree with Wanda, we should keep watching. Hopefully your questions will be answered."

Nobody was happy, none of their questions were answered, and everyone was feeling horrible, but they all found a seat again. The TV unpaused itself, like it knew they were ready to watch.

**"Got the full report." Ward was saying. Coulson again walked out of the shadows, looking grim and a little full of himself at the same time.**

**"Welcome to level seven."**

**Ward rose from his chair, staring in awe. Coulson broke into a smile. "Sorry, that corner was really dark, and I couldn't help myself. I think there's a bulb out." He glanced over his shoulder. Ward looked incredulous.**

"I doesn't seem like him." Natasha said, wishing she wasn't the one to say the words. "He's usually very professional."

"Having everyone think he's dead could've changed him," Tony argued. "It seems like a bit far to go for a mid-life crisis, though."

"I agree with Nat." Clint said sadly, rubbing his face tiredly. "I'm not so sure it's him… I was before, but now… that's not like him."

"We'll see." Vision said patiently.

**The view changed to a sunny street, a bus just pulling up to the stop. The man in the hood, Ace's father from the beginning, was walking down the street, glancing at the newspaper scrap in his hand and up at the shops around him again.**

**The camera moved down as he walked past, and we could see the young woman who had been filming him on the street when he made his first appearance. She stared after him, then leapt up from her seat at the bustop and followed him quickly.**

"She could by Hydra." Wanda suggested. "That might be why she's following him."

"If she was Hydra, she'd have more kevlar and less bangle bracelets." Natasha shook her head. "I think she must be working solo."

"She found a superhero's secret identity working solo?" Tony nodded appreciatively. "Impressed. And I'm not impressed often."

**The scene changed again, to an opening elevator door. In the elevator was Hill, Coulson, and Ward. As they walked out Ward started talking. "Director Fury faked your death, to motivate the Avengers?"**

"That douchebag." Bruce muttered. Everyone was a little surprised-most of them hadn't heard him swear before.

"He lied about Coulson… to motivate us?" Clint asked, his face hardening. "That's a low blow, Fury."

"When we're done watching this, we're finding Fury and we're getting some answers." Steve decided.

"That was ever in doubt?" Tony raised his eyebrows.

**"Well, the death of a common ally is a particularly effective team builder." Hill said.**

"I can't believe she was in on it, too." Clint sighed.

"I can." Natasha muttered.

**"Say cheese." The computer intercom said politely as they reached a glass door. Coulson, Ward, and Hill's ID badges all appeared on a clear screen, then the door unlocked for them.**

**"Plus, it wasn't that much of a stretch. I stopped breathing for about forty seconds." Coulson and Ward both grabbed a glass door and pulled them open, Hill walking through first.**

**"Eight, it gets longer every time you tell it." Hill said, leading them into a larger room full of agents in suits and ID badges.**

"Only eight seconds?" Thor murmured. "Did they bring him back with magic?"

"Nah," Tony said. "Thing called a defibrillator."

"They hit him with electricity and started his heart," Bruce explained to Thor's confused look.

**"Yeah, well, if you get shanked by the Asgardian Mussolini you can tell it your way." Coulson responded.**

"See? It doesn't sound like him." Natasha said. "He's too… happy, almost."

**"I was lookin' at the big white light and it felt like a lot longer than eight seconds." Coulson continued, pausing at a desk and picking up a badge, which he clipped to his suit. Ward took one as well, and he had another question.**

**"Do they know? The Avengers, that Fury played them?"**

"No!" Tony scowled at the screen. "At least somebody here thought of us, all our pain and suffering."

"Shut up, Tony," Clint snapped. "I saw Coulson's girlfriend at the funeral. And from how heartbroken she looked, I don't think they told her either."

"That's kind of evil." Wanda said. "I cannot imagine if… if Pietro was alive, and I did not know." Vision patted her hand comfortingly.

**"They aren't level seven." Hill replied.**

"Yeah we are," Steve said defensively. "I can't believe she just lied like that."

"After they all told us Coulson was dead, you can't believe she just lied?" Tony raised his eyebrows. "You're too trusting, spangles."

**"Got out of ICU, Fury stuck me in a grass shack in Tahiti. Rough gig. Mai tais, Travis McGee novels, and a physical therapist whose command of English was… irrelevant." They walked around a corner and through another glass door, into a room full of banks of computers with complicated glowing maps and graphs on them.**

**"Well something put you back in the game," Ward said, obviously asking. "What is that?" Someone had pulled up the video from the young woman's phone on the screens, and they watched the hooded man jump from the burning building with the unconscious woman in his arms.**

"That's gotta be hard on his knees," Steve muttered.

**"That's a superhero, Agent Ward." Coulson said, arms folded.**

**"An unregistered gifted," Hill said, leaning over another computer. "Identity unknown." She pressed a button, and the narrator woman's voice played over another video clip.**

_**"The secret's out,** _ **" She said.** _**"For decades, your organization….** _ **" Her voice was drowned out by others in different languages as other video clips popped up, showing other superheroes, fire, and chaos.**

"Isn't that 'secrets out' thing the intro we heard earlier?" Clint asked.

"I think so," Bruce nodded.

"So we were only watching another video clip that SHIELD owned," Thor said thoughtfully. "Does that mean this entire moving picture was created by SHIELD as well?"  
"Maybe." Tony frowned. "But it wouldn't be so hard for someone to hack SHIELD. Or just find that video online, if that's where SHIELD got it."

"That doesn't narrow down possible creators." Natasha scowled.

**"Another little present from the Rising Tide." Coulson said, watching the screens with an impassive face.**

**"How are they getting this stuff before us?" Ward asked, annoyed, waving his hands to take in the screens.**

**"Same way they cracked our RSA implementation. They're good. So I need better."**

"They cracked SHIELD's RSA implementation?" Stark said, frowning. "I thought I was the only one who had done that. Dammit!"

"Sorry, Tony," Bruce shook his head. "You have to share sometimes, you know."

**"Agent Coulson has requisitioned a mobile command unit to which you are assigned." Hill informed Ward. Coulson had walked around the bank of computers to pick up a binder and flip it open, then close it again and tuck it under his arms.**

**"The Rising Tide is trying to draw us out," Coulson said. "Think it's time they succeeded."**

"Okay, that does sound more like Coulson." Natasha admitted. "But I still doubt it's really him."

"Ah, c'mon," Tony argued. "It's like you people _want_ him to be dead." Natasha knew her face had flushed with anger. How dare he imply she wanted her own friend dead? But she kept her face neutral and kept her eyes on the screen in front of her.

"That's not what we mean by doubting it, Tony," Steve said.

"We just don't want to get up false hope." Bruce agreed. Tony looked at Bruce, honestly a little hurt.

"Hey, I thought you were on my side, Brucie."

"I am, I'm just-"  
"Whatever." Tony folded his arms, turning back to the screen. Bruce looked hurt, but said nothing. Natasha frowned a little. Something weird was going on with them.

**"You want me to cross them off." Ward nodded slightly.**

**"Wow," Coulson said, shaking his head with a slight snort. "No." Hill raised her eyebrows, with an** _**told-you-so** _ **look.**

Natasha was willing to bet that she had told Coulson ahead of time that Ward would immediately jump to that conclusion. She felt for Ward, judged because he assumed they wanted people dead.

**"I want to use them to get to him," Coulson said, inclining his head to the photo of the hooded hero still on the screen. "This man's world is about to get very weird. He's gonna need some help."**

**Ward frowned, shaking his head as he talked. "I'm sorry. I was trained from day one as a specialist. I go in,** _**alone,** _ **I get it done. Defusing a nuclear bomb? I'm your guy. A welcoming committee? Not my speed." He folded his arms.**

"Is that how it felt when you joined the Avengers?" Steve asked Natasha suddenly. Natasha was surprised by the question, and even more by the answer that escaped before she could stop it.

"No, I was glad to be joining a team."

Steve smiled slightly and turned back to the TV. Natasha wanted to kick herself. Why had she been so honest? That was embarrassing. She just had to learn to keep aloof, keep stern. That would make it easier if ever she had to cross off one of her teammates.

**"I know it's not what you want," Coulson said, opening his binder. "Agent Hill did a very detailed assessment of your last three missions. Combat," Coulson shook his head. "Top grades. Espionage? She gave you the highest marks since Romanoff."**

Natasha felt her stomach jump again, involuntarily. "I think that's where I know him from. Someone told me a newbie almost beat my score."

"Ward's as good as you, huh?" Tony smirked. "About time."

"Almost." Natasha glared.

**Coulson frowned at the next page. "Under people skills, she drew a-" He hesitated. "I think it's a little poop, with knives sticking out of it."**

Wanda, Tony, and Clint all snorted. "So that's also pretty Natasha-like." Tony rolled his eyes. "What's the word for that? Natashaesque?"

"Leave her alone, Tony," Steve shook his head.

"I don't need you to stand up for me. I can do it myself." Natasha muttered to him.

"I know. Doesn't mean I can't help."

**Ward leaned around to see the paper himself. Hill raised a finger in protest. "It's-"**

**"That's bad, right?" Coulson said, glancing at Ward. "And given your family history, I'm surprised it's not worse." They could see Ward's cheek twitched as he clenched his jaw. "But," Coulson closed the binder again. "I think you're the guy for this. If I'm wrong, you can go straight back to your bombs."**

**The glass door opened again and an older black man in a white lab coat with graying hair walked in. "Team's approved, physicals are all fine. Fitzsimmons is not cleared for combat, I'm told that won't be an issue. Agent Ward here, he's almost too fit."**

**Ward's ears perked up. "That's an issue," He said stepping forward and pointing at the papers the older agent had given Hill. "That should be an issue. Maybe I can't join the team because I'm-"**

"This guy's trying way to hard to back out of it." Clint said, frowning suspiciously at the screen.

"Maybe he's just not a people person." Wanda shrugged. "It does not mean anything sinister."

"But it could." Clint grumbled.

**"God, are you dismissed." Hill muttered without looking up from the papers. Ward looked a little affronted, but turned and left, trying to regain his dignity.**

**Once he was gone, Hill looked, annoyed, and Coulson. "It was a porcupine. It was not a poop. It just means that you need to-" Coulson frowned at the binder.**

**Coulson shook his head. "No, I'm sure."**

"Porcupine or poop, does it really matter?" Thor shook his head. "Both are equally bad."

"I'm kinda surprised you know what a porcupine is, Thor," Bruce frowned.

"My lady Jane took me to the museum of the natural sciences," Thor explained. "So that I might learn more about Midgard and all its plants and creatures."

**"And it's not just Ward," Hill continued. "Your whole roster is sketchy."**

**"Well," Coulson said, getting a little defensive. "They're cleared."**

**The doctor spoke up again. "I would've been very happy not to clear you, Phil. I'd love for you to rest up some more."**

**"I've had plenty of that. Thanks." Phil said.**

"Is it just me or does that doctor look really familiar?" Tony frowned at the screen.

"I think I've seen him on a TV show, yeah," Clint frowned.

"He looks like the shepard from _Firefly_." Steve suggested. At everyone's curious looks, he gave a defensive shrug. "What? It was on my list of things to catch up on."

**"You sure?" Hill asked, in a surprisingly kind voice.**

**"You should go sometime," Was Coulson's only response.**

**"Where?"**

**"Tahiti. It's a magical place."**

**Hill sniffed. "Three days in I'd be begging for an assignment."**

**"Exactly." Coulson nodded. He turned and left the room. As soon as he was gone, the smile fled Hill's face. She looked worried, or maybe just blank.**

**"Tahiti," The doctor said bitterly. He wasn't smiling either. "He really doesn't know, does he?"**   
**"He can never know." Then Hill left as well.**

"Um, okay… what?" Tony frowned.

"Maybe they're talking about Coulson's death-life near-death experience thing." Clint suggested.

"Maybe he was in the Bahamas but nobody wants to tell him." Steve suggested. "It doesn't really matter that much. Let's just keep watching, I'm sure we'll find out everything."

**The scene on the screen changed again to a coffee shop. Ace's father was sitting alone at a booth by the window, sipping coffee. He watched the news on an overhead TV, where the woman he had saved from the explosion was talking excitedly to paramedics. "Is there any way I can thank him? Are you sure nobody saw him?"**

"That's my favorite thing about heroing," Tony sighed. "All the grateful girls."

"Except, of course, you're with Pepper, so that wouldn't really matter to you, would it?" Bruce raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah…." Tony sighed. "But it's still nice."

**The newscaster started talking. "So the identity of the hooded hero still remains unknown as…"**

**The man looked down at his newspaper and circled a section of the want ads.**

"Oh, job hunting." Wanda winced. "That sucks. Especially with a son to take care of."

"He seems like a good dad, anyway, though." Steve said, remembering Ace and his father at the beginning of the video. "He'll find something."

"If he doesn't get blown up first." Bruce mumbled.

**Someone sat down across from him in his booth. It was the young woman who had been following him.**

"Her again!" Clint said, scowling at the screen. "Who _is_ this girl?"

**She glanced around nervously, setting her purse next to her, like she wanted to be sure nobody was watching them. "Just act natural." She told Ace's father, nervously glancing back into the other tables.**

"She's making it pretty obvious that she's trying to act natural." Natasha said, unimpressed. "Not very good at this."  
"She is inexperienced," Thor said. "Give her some time."

**"What?" The man asked, confused.**

**"Just-pretend that we're talking."**

**"We are." He said, looking confused and giving her a sideways look like she was quite possibly insane.**

**"Good," The woman said. "Cause you never know who's listening."**

"Inexperienced, but still paranoid." Steve nodded. "She'll be a good agent yet."

"I dunno…" Clint frowned. "She seems more tinfoil hat paranoid then agent paranoid."

**"I don't even know who's talking," The man said, obviously hoping for her name.**

**"I'm Skye," The woman said excitedly. "And you're the hooded hero. Please tell me that you're not staying with that name."**

"The hooded hero isn't a good name." Clint agreed with the TV. "But what about… The Hood? That could be an archer. Like, if they dressed all in green Robin-Hood style."

"Can we stop with the stupid references to stuff we shouldn't be able to know about?" Wanda sounded annoyed. "The author is getting lazy and we're only on chapter two."

"I'm sorry?" Vision asked, confused.

"Nothing," Wanda shook her head. "Forget about it."

**"Wait-what? I'm not-I'm a factory worker." Skye took three salt packets and rearranged them on the table.**

**She laughed at him. "Sure-by day. I** _**saw** _ **you. You're a hero! Like a for real superhero, which is like-I'm not, like, a groupie stalker type, but-" She broke into laughter. "That's cool! That is** _**so** _ **cool!" She calmed herself down. "Okay, okay, chill. Just don't draw attention." She breathed. "You're in danger."**

"So she's trying to help him?" Bruce asked, confused. "I was sure she was a bad guy."

"She could still be leading him into a trap." Natasha pointed out. "We have no reason to trust her." She could almost sense Tony rolling his eyes.

**"You've got the wrong guy, lady," The man insisted.**

"Well, he is definitely persistent." Thor nodded. "A good liar."

"He's making too much eye contact." Natasha frowned. "And he's nervous, you can tell."

"Okay, he's a good liar if he wasn't lying to an uber-trained superspy." Clint said, making her smile.

**"No, you've got the wrong approach," Skye insisted. She ducked a thumb over her shoulder to the TV. "The cute girl from the hospital is dying to thank you, and possibly** _**thank you** _ **-" She raised her eyebrows at him. "And you're hiding! The clip of you rescuing her has had the most hits since that puppy with vertigo. And you-" She inclined her head to his newspaper. "Can't even find a job."**

**The man bitterly folded up his newspaper, and leaned back in his seat to look at her. "What do you mean about danger?" He finally asked.**

"Well it's about time he asked," Tony sounded annoyed. "I want to know."

**"SHIELD." Skye said, with another anxious look around the cafe.**

"Hey!" Steve protested. "We're trying to help him!"

"She must be evil, if she's trying to turn him against SHIELD." Bruce decided.

"I don't know…" Tony hesitated.

"That's a first." Clint rolled his eyes.

"I don't know if SHIELD isn't really the threat here." Tony snapped. "Also, shut up, Daddy Hawk. I think that it might be best if he did stay away from SHIELD. This chick Skye probably only knows what she's seen online, and that's not good stuff, that's conspiracy men-in-black stuff. She probably thinks she totally is saving him."

"That's very possible," Bruce said, looking surprised.

"Always the tone of surprise." Tony pretended to pout. "I know how people think."

"I mean it." Bruce smiled. "That's clever." Tony smiled back.

**"Shield what?" The man said, confused. "I should carry a shield?"**

"Ha ha. Captain America reference." Clint rolled his eyes.

"It is not just Steven who carries a shield, Clinton." Thor reminded him. "It is very common among Asgardian warriors. In fact, it is only Midgardians who find them unusual."

**"SHIELD," Skye corrected him. "Scary men in dark suits who come after guys like you. They knew about the battle of New York before it even happened, and they cleaned it up before anyone could ask any real questions. Overnight." The man looked down at the table, like he was finally listening to her.**

"She makes it sound awful." Natasha shook her head. "We only knew about it because we were trying to stop it."

"Told you," Tony nodded sagely. "Chat room conspiracy theorist."

**"How long do you think it'll take for them to clean you up?" Skye demanded.**

**"And you want to know why I'm hiding."**

**"What if you didn't hide?" Skye asked, leaning forward like she was making an important point, which she was. "What if you got out in front of this, and let people know that you're a hero?" The man still didn't look sure.**

**"I'm just a guy," The man said, uncertain.**

"All heroes start out as just guys," Steve said. "Or girl's," He said, inclining his head to Wanda and Natasha.

**"Well a guy like that gets work. Gets perks." She rearranged the salt packets on the counter again, three of them moving positions. "I can help. I'm great with computers, like,** _**weirdly** _ **great. I could help you create a whole new identity, or-" She was so excited she almost couldn't get out the next words. "A mask?"**

"He should get a mask." Wanda said. "Hoods don't hide your identity at all. Your entire face still shows."

**"Oh-kay," The man said, snatching his newspaper and standing up.**

**"Or-we-I mean-" Skye hurried after him. "We could just-also we could just-stick with the hood." Skye chased after the man and they both stopped at a counter with stools ringed around it. "You cannot walk away from this. With great power comes… a ton of weird crap that you are not prepared to deal with! Now, my office is right-" The man had started to walk away, to the door of the cafe, and Skye had followed again.**

**"** _**You** _ **have an office?" He stopped to raise an eyebrow at her.**

"I was kind of wondering the same thing," Steve admitted, frowning at the TV. "She doesn't seem like the kind of person to hold down a steady job."

**"** _**Yes** _ **, I have an office," She said, acting a little affronted. She tugged on the straps of her purse over her shoulder, like a nervous tick. "It's a mobile… office. It's a… van, I live in a van, by choice, but it's always in the alley around the corner, free wifi, and and… you can come by anytime!" She finished her speech smiling again.**

_She definitely does have a lot of energy,_ Natasha thought. She was getting tired just watching Skye, always excited and energetic. Natasha was by now thinking longingly of her sunny lounge chair on the balcony, and the long day of napping she had had planned. Watching TV wasn't so bad, but it wasn't what she'd had in mind, especially not when the bombshell about Coulson had been dropped.

She started going through the people she knew that were dead. Were any of the others still alive? Was that good or bad or did she even know? Did she feel better or worse now that Coulson was back? She didn't know. She hated having emotions. It might look on the outside like she was blank and unconnected, but on the inside she was affected by Coulson's death more then she wanted anyone to know.

Steve seemed to sense her dismay, and looked down at her with worry. " _Are you okay?_ " He mouthed, not bothering the others. Nice of him.

Natasha nodded, but he didn't seem convinced. "I'm fine." She said, a little more tersely then she had planned. Steve shrugged and put an arm around her shoulders. Natasha's face felt hot, but she made herself relax. She actually did feel better.

**"Thank you." The man said, turning and leaving without another word. He clearly wasn't interested.**

**"They're coming for you!" Skye smiled and waved after him.**

"Okay, that's just creepy." Clint decided.

**As he left, she turned back to the counter and pulled something out of her pocket. It was an ID, with the man's picture on it. His name read;** _**Michael Peterson.** _ **"Mike." She said.**

"She stole his ID?" Tony nodded appreciatively. "Nice sticky fingers."

"I didn't see her do it," Wanda frowned at the TV. "Normally I would notice. She must be really good at slight of hand."

**The scene changed to a large grey dimly-lit SHIELD office. Rows of cubicles and desks and fluorescent lights went in every direction. The room was mostly empty, but for one woman sitting in the cubicle at the end with her back to the camera. The camera zoomed in on her, showing her face. She was an Asian woman with an expression on her face that showed you nothing.**

**"Agent May," Came Coulson's voice.**

**"No." She said, without looking up.**

"Agent Belinda May?" Natasha asked. "I definitely know her. I've gone on a couple of missions with her. Even _she_ knew about Coulson and she didn't tell me?" She found herself leaning into Steve and feeling better.

**"So you've been briefed," Coulson walked slowly around her cubicle until he was facing her.**

**"I'm not going back in the field." May said, without looking up.**

"May left the field?" Clint frowned. "Damn, I've been Avengering for so long I don't even know any of the good SHIELD gossip anymore."

**"Yeah," Coulson said, glancing around at the other cubicles. "You've got such a nice setup here. You ever thought about adding a moat?"**

Tony and Clint snorted. Wanda smiled.

**May finally looked up, unimpressed. "I just need you to drive the bus," Coulson assured her. "Liaise, ground transpo, some on-site supervision. This isn't a combat op."**

**"Then you don't need me."**

"I wonder why she left the field," Natasha mused. "She was always a great fighter. I remember liking her."

"I like her, too," Clint nodded. "But instead of being a field agent she's gone into _admin_." He pretended to shudder. He, too, had noticed Natasha's discomfort and was trying to cheer her up. Natasha didn't know what she'd do without Clint as a best friend-and Laura. They had both made her feel welcome, like she was part of their family.

**"I do," Coulson said, walking around the cubicle again so she was facing him. "Because we'll be running ourselves. Picking the ops, making the calls. No red tape." She was looking at him now, intrigued. "This is where they actually make the red tape, isn't it?" He glanced around, the vague Coulson-trademarked smile on his face. "I've always wondered."**

"Red tape?" Thor asked. "What does this mean?"  
"It is restrictions." Wanda explained. "Like 'bureaucratic red tape'." At everyone's surprised looks, she flushed. "Vision has been teaching me American phrases." Vision nodded. He had had been eerily quiet until now.

" **Melinda." Coulson said. She let the ghost of a smile cross her face.**

**"You're really just asking me to drive the bus?"**   
**"I'm not asking," Coulson said. He shifted and headed towards the door. She frowned. "But it's a really nice bus," He added.**

"Okay, I'm confused on the bus thing," Bruce said. "Are they actually driving a bus around?"  
"Yeah." Tony agreed. "I keep picturing all of us piling into a school bus, going on a mission-maybe having matching sweaters."

"They mean a plane, I think," Steve explained. "Shorthand."

**The view changed to a SHIELD hangar, where a large sleek black plane was sitting with it's nose sticking out the front doors.**

Clint whistled appreciatively. "That is a nice bus."

**They saw Agent Ward walking towards the plane, carrying a black duffle. He took off his sunglasses as he approached, looking expectantly up at the great hulking black chunk of metal.**

"What's that music in the background?" Wanda had to ask. "I have not heard it before."

"Me neither." Vision frowned. "It is not in any of my databases."

"It sounds a little familiar," Natasha frowned. "I can't place it."  
"I can." Clint groaned. "At SHIELD academy, when I had just joined up. They play that music really loudly every morning to wake up all the recruits. The trumpet that does well. It's practically SHIELD's theme song *****."

"That's it," Natasha nodded. "I can't believe I forgot it, we all hated that music."

**Ward walked up the open cargo bay hatch of the plane, past a black van. At the top of the ramp was a pile of suitcases, normal cases, and trunks. Two people were fussing over the bags, a man and a woman. The woman picked up something silver, and the man hurried over with a panicked, "Hey, woah woah woah! Careful, that's the Night-Night gun." He took it from her hands and cradled it in his arms, and they could see it was a sniper rifle made of silver and chrome.**

"The Night-Night gun?" Steve asked. "Am I the only one who doesn't know what that is?"  
"Nay," Thor shook his head. "I am also confused."

"Yeah… it's not one of mine. Those two must've built it. And you know it's not mine from the stupid name," Tony snickered.

**"Well it's on my stuff and it doesn't work, and there's no way we're calling it the Night-Night gun." The woman said, grabbing another bag. She had a British accent, and the man had a Scottish one.**

"At least someone around here has some sense. Name it something like 'Darkhawk'." Clint advised, like the TV could hear him.

**"The bullets** _**work,** _ **" The man insisted, the camera following the young man and woman into the open doors in the plane behind them, showing a lab with tables and computers and holo screens. "Nonlethal, heavy stopping power, break up under the subcutaneous tissue-"**

**The man carefully set the Night-Night gun into a metal case as the woman argued. "Oh, with a dose of only .1 microliters of dendrotoxin! I'm not Hermione, I can't create instant paralysis with that."**

"I think it's possible," Bruce frowned. "But it would be very difficult."

"It is possible." The Vision said. "The Night-Night gun is commonly used by Agent Coulson's team, and is listed in the SHIELD database as having been created by the pair we are watching now."

"What are their names?" Clint pressed.

"I cannot tell you. You will see." The Vision said, his mouth clamping shut. A small groan rose from everyone in the room.

**As the young man and woman argued, you could see more about them. The woman had dark brown hair and eyes, and the man had curly blond hair and a hoodie over a button-up shirt.**

**"You should have run the specs by me before building the molds," The woman argued.**

**"The bullets are hollow, it's a miracle I can keep them from breaking apart in the chamber!" They started talking over each other, their voices rising.**

**"Or used a high-caliber round-"**

**"Read a book!"**

"Burn." Tony smirked. "I like these guys. They're annoying, but they seem smart."

"They aren't annoying," Bruce rolled his eyes. _They kind of are,_ Natasha thought. She wished they'd stop arguing, they'd only been on screen fifteen seconds and already they were giving her a headache.

**"Have you ever heard of physics? Or, what's the other one,** _**inertia?** _ **"**

**"It's not particularly difficult-"**

**Ward dropped his bag heavily on the floor, getting both of their attention and stopping the argument dead. His face was blank, but he was obviously unamused. "Fitzsimmons?" He asked, sounding like he wanted to be somewhere else.**

"Isn't Fitzsimmons the guy who's not cleared for combat?" Steve remembered.

"If one of them is Agent Fitzsimmons, who is the other?" Wanda asked. "Is only one of them going on Coulson's team?"

**"Fitz," The woman said, pointing at the man.**

**"Simmons," Fitz said, pointing at the woman in turn.**

Tony started laughing. "They're the same-Fitzsimmons is actually two-that makes so much sense."

Everyone was starting to smile except for Natasha. Even Wanda looked amused, and she didn't normally smile much. Even the Vision, who wasn't good at emotions. Natasha was too exasperated with the couple to be able to laugh.

**"I'm engineering, she's biochem." Fitz said, sounding a little disgusted with his partner.**

"Like me and Bruce. Science Bros!" Tony held out a fist to Bruce, who looked at it quizzically. "Don't leave me hanging here, man."

"Oh, right," They fistbumped.

**"Agent… Ward?" Fitz checked.**

**Ward didn't bother answering, just pulled something small and shiny from his jacket. "Coulson said I'd need my com receiver encoded." He handed it off to Fitz, who glanced at it, and set it down on his workstation. "Don't know if you've worked with that model before." Ward continued. "It's-"**

**Fitz smashed the com receiver with a hammer.**

**"Brand new." Ward finished.**

This time, Tony wasn't the only one to crack up. Clint and Thor joined in. Even Natasha had to smile, just a little. The dark haze of finding out that Coulson was still alive seemed to have lifted from the group a little, from her especially. Coulson was alive and well, and when she thought about it, wasn't that really a good thing?  
 **"He'll repurpose the IDIS chip." Simmons said, bending over a table and working on something else.**

**"Don't need the external receiver for the inner-ear coms anymore," Fitz said, picking up a piece and tossing it aside.**

**Ward started to ask, "So how does it-"**

**Then Simmons was standing in front of him, with a cotton ball stuck in his mouth. He made a sound like someone at the dentist's trying to talk. "Embedded sensorineural silicone matched to your DNA." Simmons explained, swabbing the inside of his cheek.**

"That one was the work of the Science Bros." Tony interrupted.

**She took it out and headed back to her workspace. "It's very posh. So," Simmons continued, ignoring Ward's clear unhappiness. "Are you excited to be coming on our journey into mystery?"**

" **It's like Christmas." He said, without emotion.**

"He reminds me of you, Lady Natasha," Thor said. "Though you are more beautiful, and probably a better warrior."

Natasha sniffed. "Definitely. On both accounts."

**There was a sound of tires behind them, and a shiny red old-fashioned car pulled up into the plane next to the black truck.**

"Nice car," Clint nodded appreciatively.

" **One of Coulson's old SHIELD collectibles," Fitz said, as they saw Coulson climb from the car and take his sunglasses off.**

"Nice _entrance_." Tony added.

" **Flamethrowers, world's first GPS. He's mad for this crap." Fitz said, rolling his eyes.**

**A maintenance worker in safety orange tried to open the red car's hood, but Coulson stopped him with a glare. "Don't touch Lola."**

"Really?" Tony sighed. "That is so midlife crisis."

"Second-life crisis, if what they were saying earlier about Coulson is true." Steve mused.

"If Coulson died and came back, then isn't that like restarting the clock on his life?" Bruce wondered. "And if that's true, then isn't Coulson only about two years old, technically?"

Tony grinned. "Hey, yeah! Coulson's a two-year-old!"  
 **"And he calls it a girls name," Fitz smirked. He hit Ward on the back and returned to him and Simmons' lab. The next shot showed Coulson leading Ward (carrying his duffle) up a flight of metal stairs to the second floor of the plane.**

**"Lola's not just a collectible, you know," Coulson told Ward. "People tend to confuse the words 'new' and 'improved'. This is mobile command," Coulson continued as they walked into a living area. There was mood lighting, a small bar, glass walls with the SHIELD logo printed on them, white leather couches and polished mahogany tables.**

"I think his plane is nicer than my house." Wanda muttered.

"I feel you," Clint nodded.

**"They were in heavy rotation back in the nineties, but then we got a helicarrier. Hey, did you hear the one about the guy who's afraid of flying?"**

Natasha frowned. That was a joke. Coulson almost never joked, and when he did he didn't smile like the man on screen was doing now. As much as she wanted that to be Coulson, as much as she wanted this to be true, she still couldn't let herself believe it. She couldn't waste time on false hope.

 _There's more then one kind of false hope,_ the nagging voice at the back of her head told her as her eyes strayed to Steve. _Forget about it. It'll never happen._

 _I don't want it to._ Natasha told herself. But for once, she was a bad liar.

**"I've done a night jump into a drop zone under heavy fire, sir," Ward said, and the smile left Coulson's face. "I can handle it."**

**"That was a… joke. The-first part of a… I'm not gonna tell it now." Coulson said, as they stopped by an open bunk door.**

**"If you plan to unpack, make it quick? Wheels are up in five." Agent Melinda May was back, dressed in the same black kevlar bodysuit that Natasha wore.**

"Other people wear that?" Tony raised his eyebrows. "Unoriginal, 'Tasha."

Natasha rolled her eyes.

**May handed Coulson a folder. "We may have a hit on one of the Rising Tide's routing points."**

**"Good," Coulson said, flipping through the pages. "We need to do some catching up." May walked away again, back towards the cockpit. Ward stared after her.**

**"Is that who I think it is?"**

**"She's just the pilot," Coulson said, glancing up.**

**"Melinda May is… just the pilot." Ward looked disbelieving. "Come on, sir, what game are you really playing?"**

"Why is that so hard to believe?" Natasha frowned. "I don't remember her having much of a reputation, the last time I worked with her."

"That was a while ago," Clint shook his head. "Something big must've happened since."

**"Better stow your gear," Coulson said, walking away. Several shots were flashed across the screen of the cargo bay doors of the plane closing, a man in safety yellow waving the plane forward, May flipping switches in the cockpit. The plane was shown rolling out of the hangar in all it's SHIELD glory.**

**"How will you come at us?" The woman narrator's voice was back. "From the air?"**

**The SHIELD logo traced onto the back of the plane was shown as the plane left the hangar.**

"Okay, this seriously bothers me," Tony interrupted again. "If SHIELD is supposed to be a super-secret organization, why is their logo painted on a ginormous black plane? Shouldn't everybody notice that?"  
"Not necessarily secret, just advanced." Natasha said, and added in her head, _and the black plane looks really cool._

**"From the ground?" The narrator's voice continued as the image changed to a battered blue van in a city alleyway. Then the view changed to inside the van, where newspaper clippings and blurry photos of heroes were pinned to the walls. "How will you silence us this time? How can you?" They saw a computer screen with a wave on it, recording her voice.**

**The SHIELD plane took off. "The truth is in the wind," She said. "It's everywhere." The image was back in the van, passing maps with red marks on them and finally settling on Skye's face, the woman who had found Mike Peterson. "You cannot stop the Rising Tide."**

"I knew she was evil." Bruce muttered.

**"You will not find us, you will never see our faces, but rest assured-we will rise against those who shield us from the truth. And nothing-** _**nothing-** _ **can stop us n-"**

**The door of the van opened, and Coulson and Ward were standing there, glaring in.**

"Great timing." Tony smirked.

**Skye froze. She turned to face them, smiling innocently. "Hey." She said. "What up?" Then a bag was forced over her head and the screen went dark.**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Find me on tumblr @queen-icicle-fandom


	3. Chapter Three

"Did they just kidnap Skye?" Tony frowned.

"They didn't kidnap her. They arrested her." Natasha corrected, trying not to scowl at him. He could give SHIELD a good word, just for once. He always assumed the worse, and half of the time Natasha thought it was just because his father had supported SHIELD. Tony had daddy issues.

"Don't people usually get handcuffed when they're arrested, not bagged and dragged?" Steve asked. Natasha scowled, but didn't argue that point (it was a good point) as the video kept playing.

On the screen, Coulson and Ward were shown leading a head-bagged Skye up the metal ramp into the Bus. Coulson glanced behind them nervously, as if to make sure they weren't being followed.

"Couldn't Skye have backup? Or couldn't she be carrying some sort of spyware she wanted to get into a SHIELD base?" Bruce asked nervously.

"I have a bad feeling about this." Wanda agreed. "She is dangerous."  
"You two worry too much," Tony waved his hand. "Nobody voluntarily gets kidnapped.

The bag was whipped off Skye's head in a metal interrogation room, dimly lit, with hexagons of metal forming the walls. There was only a metal table and chairs, and Skye was quickly forced to sit down. Coulson closed the door ominously, Ward standing sullenly a little to the side like he was trying to intimidate her.

"Creepy." Tony muttered.

"You guys are making a big mistake," Skye said breathily, like she had just finished hyperventilating. Her hair was in her face from the bag pulling-off.

"You don't look that big," Ward said without his face changing.

"Burn." Tony smirked. "I need to remember that."

Skye anxiously brushed her hair out of her eyes. "Sorry for the lack of finesse," Coulson said politely, like they were discussing the weather. "Agent Ward here has had a little history with your group. The Rising Tide."  
Skye started to deny, "I don't know what you-"  
"Okay," Ward interrupted. "There are two ways we can do this."

"Oh," Skye smiled in mock innocence. "Is one of them the easy way?"

"No."

"The Lady Skye is no doubt going to be harder to break then a few petty insults and implied threats," Thor scowled. "Why do they not charge her with crime as we do on Asgard? Make her fight. If she loses she's arrested, if she wins, she's killed our champion and she still gets arrested."

"Wow." Tony said. "That is seriously really messed up."

"I'm with Stark. For once." Steve said, raised eyebrows up. "That's not a super system, Thor, no offense."

"Wow, the two of us agree on something?" Tony laughed. "That is unusual. Hell, half the time we're practically at a civil war."  
"Nah," Steve shook his head. "Nobody wants that." There was a pause. "Right?"

"Yeah," A couple of people agreed.

"I dunno…." Tony frowned. "I think it'd be kinda cool."*

"Oh." The smile slid from Skye's face, like she was kind of embarrassed.

"What's your name?" Coulson asked. There was a hesitant pause.

"Skye."

"What's your real name?" Ward asked, glowering at her.

"That can wait," Coulson said. "It's another name we need. A certain hero."

Skye hesitated, then shook her head. "What makes you think I know that?"

From the look on your face when he asked you, you're making it a little obvious, Natasha thought.

"Well," Coulson said, sitting down across from her. "You made a little mistake. The phone you filmed the hooded hero with had the same cryptographic signature as a few of the Rising Tide posts." He opened a binder and tossed a paper on the table in front of her.

"Okay, what's with Coulson and binders?" Tony had to ask. "That's like the thirtieth binder he's had so far in this episode."

"We SHIELD agents need a lot of binders." Clint shrugged. "And it's the third, not thirtieth."

"Wow, yeah," Skye said, trying to smile again. "Was that a mistake, or am I now sitting in the center of your secret headquarters?" She glanced around at the interrogation room. "What is this… a plane?"

"How did she know?" Wanda asked, puzzled.

"She went up the ramp," Natasha reminded her. "It's a smaller room, and if the engines are on she might be able to feel them. We'd better go over this again in your training." Wanda's face was pink.

"I got inside," Skye continued, as Ward shot an uncertain look to Coulson. "And by now you've discovered you can't beat the encryption on my equipment, so, you got nothing." She looked fairly pleased with herself.

"Are all hackers this arrogant or is it just the ones I know?" Clint asked.

"Okay, first?" Tony held up two fingers. "She's not arrogant, she's cocky. Not the same. And second," He lowered one finger so he was flipping off Clint. "I'm way cooler than her."

"We've got a fairly strong coincidence." Coulson said, still smiling at Skye. He held up a photo of the burning building from the opening scene. "You, being on the scene? Right before it went up in flames? You wanna tell me what my team is gonna find there?"

The image on the screen changed to show a black van's tires as it rolled to a halt. The image panned out, to show the SHIELD logo on the side of the van as it stopped in front of the building that was now a burned-out husk on the upper floors.

"I'm honestly surprised that SHIELD stayed hidden so long with their logo on everything." Tony shook his head. "Sloppy form."

"This coming from you?" Clint raised an eyebrow. "Isn't that the pot calling the kettle black."

"Tony doesn't put his logo on things," Bruce argued good-naturedly. "Only his name, in big capital letters." Tony pretended to be offended at the jab. Secretly, he was proud that Bruce had managed a little sarcasm in his tone.

The doors opened even before the car had really stopped rolling, and Fitzsimmons eagerly climbed out. Simmons squeezed Fitz's shoulders with excitement. May got out of the drivers' side door and studied the scene more warily, glancing up at the smashed windows and then down to the footprints pounded into the cracked concrete where Mike had landed.

Natasha was trying to think about what had happened to May to keep her out of the field. She had heard a few whispers, years ago now-something about a mission in Bahrain. But nobody knew anything important and she had paid so little attention she had forgotten all about it. She felt guilty now, having ignored something that had clearly drastically changed the fellow agent's life. Something was as different about the May onscreen as there was about the Coulson-she was subdued, and even though she was still quiet and calculating, she wasn't warm. Natasha regretted not seeing May in so long. She hoped that this new team with Coulson would make things better for May.

But she had seen agents torn apart by missions gone wrong-not physically, but emotionally. Sometimes the worst injury was only in your head.

That wouldn't happen to May, she told herself. Coulson's team would fix things. And after they were done watching this, she'd find May and make sure of it.

"How did you know the hooded man was in the building?" Coulson asked, the image returning to the interrogation.

"Did you blow it up to draw him out?" Ward asked. He was standing next to Skye and she looked a little asphyxiated.

"Did you?" Skye asked hotly, managing to regain a little of her sense of aloofness.

"That's not our style." Coulson asked, hands folded on the table in front of him.

"I was just kidnapped by your style!" Skye protested. "SHIELD covered up New Mexico, Project Pegasus-of course you'd be covering up Centipede!"

"Did she seriously just say 'Project Pegasus'?" Steve asked, confused. "Because… wow. I have so many questions."

"No, it's not a vegetable or a mineral. I'm gonna have to go with animal." Tony said, smirking slightly. He stood up and headed for the minibar in the corner of their living room. "Anybody else thirsty?"  
"It's not even noon yet," Bruce said, checking his watch.

Vision frowned. "It is not good for your health to drink alcoholic beverages at this time of day, or-"

"Relax," Tony rolled his eyes, but it was clear he was trying not to smirk. "I meant water."

"He only said water to prove us wrong, didn't he." Bruce frowned.

"Yes." Vision agreed.

Coulson's face stayed blank. But Ward took a step back behind Skye and pretended to be scratching his ear. He could quite clearly be seen mouthing to Coulson, "Centipede?"

Clint and Natasha both winced. Even Steve and Bruce, who weren't official agents, knew tha had been a bad move.

"He just blew the interrogation!" Thor cried in dismay. "If I know one thing from battling Loki is that you should never let your enemy know your weaknesses."

"Too late for that, now," Steve groaned.

Skye had seen Ward's bad move and started breaking into a grin. "Holy no way," She snorted derivatively. "You don't know what that is. Billions of dollars of equipment at your disposal and I beat you with a laptop that I won in a bet?"

"Now that's just sad," Tony said, sitting back down by Bruce. He was, after all, drinking a glass of amber liquid which Bruce tried not to comment on. "Seriously, a bet? There has to be a better way to get a computer."

Natasha rolled her eyes. Of course that's what he'd be worried about.

"You need to think about your friend," Coulson said, leaning forward. "We're not the only ones interested in people with powers. We'd like to contain him, yeah. The next guy will want to exploit him, and the guy after that will wanna dissect him."

"What is Centipede?" Ward demanded.

The screen changed again, to show Mike on the phone with someone in his kitchen. He sighed, and looked down at a Notice to Vacate. In the living room, Ace was sitting on the floor playing. Mike glanced at him.

Wanda winced as the screen showed Ace. Her family had never had much money, not even before her parents died and she and Pietro had been on their own. She remembered once, when she was only six, she and Pietro had walked in on her mother sitting at the kitchen table and crying over a piece of paper sticking out of an envelope.

When she realized they were there, she had quickly pulled herself together. As Wanda and Pietro had tried to make her feel better, Wanda had snuck a look at the letter that had upset her mother. At the time, she hadn't understood what a Notice to Vacate was, but now she did.

It was one of Wanda's clearest childhood memories, because it was the first time reality showed it's ugly face.

"Yeah, I get it, but-" Mike leaned forward and lowered his voice so Ace wouldn't hear him. "Listen, doctor, people saw me! They saw what I can do! If I went public that might be good, I mean your product works. It works amazingly and-" He paused again, lifting his sleeve to show what looked like a metal centipede attached to his arm. Pieces of it, that should've been the centipede's body, were glowing orange faintly.

"Woah," Bruce said, looking impressed. "That thing's attached right to the artery. The chemicals giving him his powers must be in his bloodstream. But then why would it be glowing…?" He trailed off, lost in thought.

"Yeah, I know what I signed, but if we got out in front of this, then maybe-then what? I'm gonna go crawling back to the factory? I couldn't even get workman's comp from those crooks, I don't think-"  
Mike nodded his head as he argued with the person on the other end of the conversation, getting agitated. "Yeah, yeah, doctor, I just thought…" He stopped, clearly drawing himself together. "Okay." He hung up.

"Poor guy." Clint said sympathetically. "He's only trying to take care of his kid. He's not even doing anything wrong."

Mike turned to look at a framed photo of him, younger, with a smiling woman who could only be his wife. He threw the phone at it and smashed the frame angrily.

Steve winced. He didn't know where the wife was, but if she was dead then Mike probably wasn't going and throwing phones at her photo. Maybe she had convinced him to join centipede?

"According to my databanks," Vision said, seeing the captain's confusion. "Michael Peterson's wife abandoned the family after Michael lost his job, leaving their son Ace with him."

Jerk. Steve thought. He couldn't imagine anyone abandoning their spouse and child just because of losing a job. Natasha, for instance, would never do a thing like that. She was a good person, even if half the time she didn't seem to believe it herself.

"This was a lab," Simmons said. The screen returned again to the burned-out interior of the exploded building. The walls were crumbling, everything was black from the burn, and the sound of crunching glass followed the three agents as they entered the fallout. "Was this leased as a lab?"

"Self empowerment center." May said, staring at something on the ceiling with flashlight in hand. "With a top of the line motion sensor security system."

"Ah, so a secret lab," Simmons beamed, staring down at a half-melted dead body on the ground.

"Nobody should be that happy while staring at a dead body." Thor frowned reproachfully.

"Ah, give 'er a break!" Tony commanded cheerily. "It's a secret lab! Everybody loves 'em."

"And a superhero," May sighed. "Not a coincidence. So was this explosion sabotage, was it meant for him, or were they just in over their heads?"

Fitz could be seen following the two other agents in, carrying a large case. "Yeah, working that problem. Ladies, if you'll just…." He squeezed past May and Simmons, only having to squeeze because of the wide berth he was giving the body Simmons' was examining. "Sorry."

Bruce knew how Fitz must feel. He remembered the first dead body he'd seen up close-one of the earlier testers for the Hulk experiment, long before they'd gotten the reaction quite right. The man had died right in front of Bruce, and there had been nothing he could do. He hadn't slept for weeks after.

So when Tony chuckled, "Wimp." Bruce scowled.

Fitz crouched and set down his case, opening a half-dozen clasps. "If you're gonna be in the field, Agent Fitz, you have to get your hands dirty."

"No…" Fitz had out what looked like a type of iPad, and pressed several icons on screen. "I don't. Hi-ho, off to work you go…."  
Seven tiny remote-controlled machines rose from the case. They were a mix of drones and the toy helicopters kids played with. One by one, they shot off in different directions, scanning the room for him.

"That is actually pretty cool," Tony admitted. "Although, obviously, all of my technology is cooler."

"Obviously." Steve rolled his eyes.

"Centipede," Skye said. They were back in the interrogation room. "There was chatter on the web, and then… gone. I traced the access point mac address to that building."

"What were you after?" Ward asked sullenly.

"The truth," Skye snapped. "What are you after?"

"World peace." He stood up, getting agitated. "You pseudo-anarchist-hacker types love to stir things up, but you're never around for the fallout. People keep secrets for a reason, Skye."

"This guy is seriously not very good at interrogating." Clint frowned. "He keeps messing it up."

"Well just because you're reasonable and…" She poked him in the chest. "Firm, doesn't mean that you're not an evil faceless government toolbag."

"Nice." Tony nodded approvingly. "Delivery needed a little work, though."

"Just give us your guy's name," Ward sounded exasperated.  
"He's not my guy!" Skye protested.

"You understand he's in danger." Coulson said, who had been impassively watching the exchange.

"Then let me go!" Skye said, pouncing at the chance. "Let me talk to him, me, not the T-1000 here."

"You want to be alone with him." Ward seemed unimpressed. "Of course." He approached Coulson, stage-whispering so that Skye could clearly hear. "She's a groupie. All this hacking into SHIELD, tracking powers," His voice rose angrily. "She might as well be one of those sweaty cosplay girls crowding around Stark tower!"

Several sets of eyes went to Tony. "What?" He protested. "I can't keep my fans away."

"I don't think all of those fans are for you, Stark," Steve sighed.

"Please, like any of them are for you."

"I'm just saying, you can't claim credit for all of the work the team has done over the y-"

"Well I'm just saying that you should take your jealousy and stick it-"

"Enough!" Natasha shouted. Even when her voice was loud, she kept her tone neutral so no emotion showed. She was bad at getting attached to things, especially people. "Vision, please continue the tape. We're done." She glared at Steve and Tony, who both seemed a little abashed. Steve even hang his head a little.

"What?!" Skye protested. "I would-" She shook her head, lowering her voice to mutter, "That was one time."

Tony smirked smugly. Steve's head hanging was already over with, and he shot his teammate a glare.

Coulson was standing at the door of the interrogation room. "Ward." He said, and Ward followed him out of the interrogation room, the door closing behind them. "Is it the girl?" Coulson demanded as they walked into the sunnier more lavishly furnished part of the plane. "Is she getting under your skin?"  
"Sir…" Ward sighed.

"Or is it the assignment?" Coulson sounded angry. "Are you so desperate to get out of this that you'd deliberately blow an interrogation?"  
Natasha shook her head disapprovingly. If that was true, then Ward didn't deserve the respect she'd given him earlier. That was immature. Of course… she glanced around at her team. So was her team. Maybe immature wasn't always such a bad thing.

"Give me a minute alone with her-!" Ward said, as Coulson stopped at the door of a storage unit and typed in an access code. "And I promise, you'll have your answers."

"She's an asset." Coulson said, opening the door of the storage unit.

"She is such an assh-wait, asset?"

Tony laughed, and he wasn't the only one. Clint and Thor were, right along with him, and Wanda was repressing a smile. Natasha was probably the only one who could hear Steve's light snigger, as she was sitting next to him.

"We don't know anything about her." Coulson said. He had taken a black case with the SHIELD logo on it from the storage unit, and set it on a glowing table. "Do you appreciate how often that happens? That never happens. We need-" He opened the case, and you could see some kind of gun inside. "What she knows."

"That's ominous." Wanda muttered. "Are they going to shoot her?"

"That's not a regular gun," Natasha shook her head. "They couldn't shoot her with it if they wanted to, and I doubt they do."

The scene changed again to the burned-out lab, where Fitz was controlling his mini drones and Simmons was explaining them to May.

"See, they're designed each with their own capabilities, so, um, some are recording the dimensions and textures of the room, and some are testing matter density, radiation, I mean one is basically just smelling."

"How could a machine smell?" Steve asked, confused. He realized something and turned to Vision. "How do you smell?"

"Hey, yeah…" Clint frowned. "Vision, can you smell?"  
Vision, looked extremely miffed (or as miffed as he was capable of looking) shook his head stiffly. "We should meet this Fitz guy," Tony said thoughtfully, swirling the ice around in his glass. "Get you a sense of smell."

"Why is this so important?" Natasha sighed.

"Tasha," Tony said, looking affronted. "Guy's gotta have a sense of smell." She just shook her head. You're all ridiculous.

"Woah, woah, woah, I've got something in… something." Fitz said. The screen of his iPad showed the camera feed that must've been coming from one of his little drones. Across the top was: 04 Bashful.

"Bashful?" Tony snorted. "Oh, I bet they're all named after the dwarves from Snow White, right?"  
"Dwarves do not have names like 'Bashful'," Thor said, half confused half annoyed. "They have names like Grindleschneck and Keely and Bob."

"Wow." Tony said. "Not even starting on that one."

"Oh, who's got it?" Simmons asked.

"Ah…" Fitz checked his screen. "Bashful." He pointed to one. May walked over to see what it was the drone had found, treading carefully over the debris on the floor.

"Aw," Simmons cooed over Bashful. May climbed over a piece of wreckage to see what it was the drone had found. She picked up something black and plastic.

"Surveillance camera." She reported to the other two agents. "Deep-fried."  
"Yes, but that model has flash memory in case of fry-outs," Fitz said, and tripped over something. Quickly righting himself, he continued. "Now, I could sync that with the data from the motion detectors, and with a little luck, get some images from before the blast. And by luck I mean unappreciated genius."

"I know how you feel, buddy," Tony sighed. "I'm a total genius. And I'm way underappreciated."

"You realize your name is in huge neon letters on the side of the building, right?" Natasha raised an eyebrow.

"And that said building is surrounded by a horde of screaming fangirls?" Steve continued.

"And that you have owning shares in a multi-million dollar company?" Bruce finished.

Tony shook his head. "Still not good enough, haters."

"And you'll need it," Simmons said, still studying the control pad for the drones. "Snow's reading some compounds that are… woah." Simmons crouched to look at something on the floor.

"Explosive?" May asked.

"Probably." Wanda nodded.

"Not of this earth," Simmons corrected, holding up what looked like a piece of the same centipede machine stuck in Mike's arm.

"That's probably bad, right?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> FInd me on tumblr @queen-icicle-fandom

**Author's Note:**

> Please leave a review and check out my other stories here and on Fanfiction.net!


End file.
